Kuo Hung-chih’s wild pitch with a runner on third scored the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth as the Chinatrust Brothers edged past the Uni-President Lions in a 7-6 thriller at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium last night to clinch the weekend series by a 2-1 margin.
In a contest that featured five lead-changes, the men in the familiar golden uniforms had the final laugh as they rallied from one down three times in the same game to win their first weekend series in nearly a month.
After falling behind by a run in the top of the second, the Brothers quickly answered with three runs of their own off Lions starter Liao Wen-yang to enjoy a 3-1 advantage.
The two-run lead lasted less than two innings as the Cats also showed their resilience by scoring twice in the fourth and fifth to take a 5-4 lead.
After the Brothers rallied to tie the game at 5-all in the bottom of the fifth, the two teams traded a run in the sixth to retie the game at 6-all, a score that lasted into the ninth before Wang Sheng-wei led off the inning with a double and took third on a sacrifice bunt to set up the game-winner.
MONKEYS 7, RHINOS 1 GAME 1
RHINOS 6, MONKEYS 2 GAME 2
The top-ranked Lamigo Monkeys split their day-night doubleheader against the EDA Rhinos by winning the former 7-1 at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium before dropping the second 6-2 last night.
Starter Hsu Ming-chieh showed off his experience on the mound by tossing one-run ball, despite giving up seven hits over five frames. Even though he did not pick up the win as the Monkey offense failed to give him the lead in time, his contribution was instrumental as it kept the game close enough for his late-warming offense to plate six unanswered runs to pave the way for game-winner Huang Wei-sheng.
Starring at the plate for the Primates were Lin “Chubby Kid” Hung-yu and Lin Chih-sheng, who homered off Rhinos starter Hsiao Yi-chieh for their team to provide the necessary runs to garner the victory.
In the night game in Taoyuan, the Rhinos rode the red-hot arm of Andy Sisco all the way to victory in a 6-2 affair to salvage a series-split on the day.
The US lefty, who won the Pitcher of the Month honor in April, was on top of his game, striking out nine over seven innings with two allowed runs on four hits to win his eighth of the year.
Doing the damage offensively for the Rhinos was the heart of the order, with Hu Chin-lung and Lin Yi-chuan each belting off three hits on the night and Yang Guan-wei driving in a pair with as many hits.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping